


romantic holidays, dating, and other enigmas

by connorsmarkus (nnivanfields)



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Comedy, Connor is a dork, Fluff, Human AU, M/M, Oneshot, fowler is surprisingly good at romance advice, potential for secondhand embarrassment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2020-02-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:33:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22701019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nnivanfields/pseuds/connorsmarkus
Summary: Connor's not a romantic person, but Markus is. Their one-year dating anniversary is on Valentine's Day, which is a romantic KO in Connor's book. He's got to find a way to celebrate that Markus will truly appreciate. He turns to an unlikely source for advice.
Relationships: Connor/Markus (Detroit: Become Human)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 78





	romantic holidays, dating, and other enigmas

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was requested from mirainablackhart on tumblr. They wanted a fic where a canonically not-romantically-inclined Connor wants to make Valentine's Day perfect for Markus, so he starts asking around for advice. This spiraled a bit out of control, but I hope you like it!

Connor possesses a lot of reputable traits. He’s a quick learner, a fantastic critical thinker, and he possesses athletic capabilities that render him unbeatable in track and kickboxing. He’s incredibly smart, having graduated high school with a GPA of 4.0 and exceeded expectations in the police academy. He’s now a dedicated detective partner alongside a celebrated Lieutenant, and they’ve made headlines multiple times since they’ve started working together.

But Connor isn’t perfect. Technically and physically, he’s incredible. But when it comes to emotions or the five senses, Connor is about as terrible as can be. It isn’t the best way to exist as a human being in a romantic relationship, when you’re coming up on a holiday that the entirety of America celebrates with nothing but unfettered romantic intent.

_‘Flatter your partner with a dozen magnificent roses…’_ One television ad preaches, while a radio commercial puts the obligation to buy your girlfriend jewelry on blast. And here Connor is, completely incapable of understanding how any of that would appeal to him, let alone his own boyfriend.

It goes without saying that Connor and Markus becoming a couple was a shock to Connor. They’d been friends since high school, and after Connor came back from the academy and started working for the DPD, they’d become roommates. Connor had been in a financial situation where he couldn’t quite afford a place of his own, and Markus had been more than willing to get a place with him.

Connor has probably had feelings for Markus for far longer than he recalls, but he hadn’t really acknowledged them until Markus had confessed his own attraction to him over dinner of all things. Maybe he had been afraid that Connor would refuse if he’d asked him out on a date, or maybe he had just realized it then and hadn’t had the patience to wait and figure out how better to say it.

But Connor had felt something like excitement at those words. The ‘ _I think I have a crush on you_ ’ that had fallen from Markus’ lips after he’d swallowed a drink of the water he’d made alongside his meal had reverberated in Connor’s head for several seconds, to the point that Markus had grown fearful of rejection.

But Connor had reciprocated easily.

He’s the type of guy who doesn’t know certain feelings until they slap him in the face. But when Markus had suggested they try going out on a date, Connor hadn’t even stopped to consider the possibility uncomfortable. He’d just dumbly stuttered out an “o-okay,” when Markus had pitched an afternoon at an art museum and a night at a restaurant.

His own attraction to Markus had become more and more obvious over time, too. They hadn’t kissed on the first date. Connor had simply joked about how strange it was that Markus was dropping him off at the same home that they were both going to be staying in. They’d flirted a little, and Connor’s heart had damn near leapt out of his throat at the thought of kissing Markus, but he had promptly dismissed himself to the shower out of sheer self-induced awkwardness.

But when that first kiss had happened, it had been incredible. Connor had solved his first big case. He and Hank had celebrated around a single drink together at the bar, before they’d taken a taxi home. Connor doesn’t drink, so he was a little buzzed on that one beer, and his body had been alight with excitement about what had happened. He’d been so ecstatic when he’d come home that Markus had outright laughed at how bubbly he was.

Connor hadn’t even been able to sit down. He had just been so busy gushing about how they’d actually had to _chase_ their perpetrator, and how Connor had seen Hank put his combat skills to use for the first time since they’d started working together, and he had been gesturing with his hands and practically bouncing with excitement.

And all it had taken was one statement from Markus to push things in the right direction. He had held all the warmth in the world in his eyes as he’d proclaimed simply, “ _You are so goddamned beautiful right now. You wear happy so well._ ”

They’d exchanged glances, and the next thing Connor had known, he and Markus had ended up all over each other.

Markus had waited until Valentine’s Day to officially ask Connor to be his boyfriend, but obviously, Connor had agreed.

They’ve been dating nearly a year, now. As of Valentine’s Day, which is in a few days, they’ll have hit that mark. And Markus has given Connor one hell of a good year as his boyfriend. He’s cared for him on the harder days, gotten excited with him on the better ones, and the two of them have even had their lazy, easygoing days where they want nothing more than to lie in bed and watch television together.

Connor wants to give that back. He wants to show Markus how grateful he is that Markus had confessed his feelings on that day. He wants to give Markus the most romantic, meaningful Valentine’s-day-slash-one-year-anniversary he possibly can.

But the problem is, Connor is literally the worst at it. He doesn’t possess much in the vein of emotional or romantic thinking. Markus is good at drawing it out of him, but when Connor himself has to come up with something, he draws a blank. He’s too technical at heart and often fails miserably as a result.

He’s tried everything from Googling romantic date ideas to asking coworkers. Hank had laughed in his face, and Gavin had damn near thrown up on him out of disgust. Chris and Tina hadn’t been much help, either. Except, of course, for the fact that they had both suggested Connor try asking Fowler.

Which is just as confusing as it is intimidating. Connor doesn’t usually interact with Fowler. The police captain himself isn’t all that intimidating, but Connor has heard Hank argue with the guy, and it’s often resulted in them both screaming at one another over his desk and then Fowler promptly kicking Hank out of the office. It’s not pretty.

Connor finds it hard to imagine that Fowler is going to be much help, but he supposes he can’t judge a book by its cover and it never hurts to ask. So…he sucks it up and makes his way to the center of the bullpen, where Fowler’s office awaits.

He knocks cautiously on the door, and then makes his way into the room as Fowler gives him the green light. He finds the good captain seated at his desk, a tablet in hand. He’s scrolling almost mindlessly—so much so that he keeps up the action even as he turns his attention to Connor.

“You gonna say something?” He questions, and Connor tenses at the words. He doesn’t sound impatient, but Connor realizes that he doesn’t know exactly how to go about asking what he’s asking.

Hell, does Fowler even _know_ he’s got a boyfriend?

Connor clears his throat. “Well, Captain, it’s just that…I’m gay.”

_Wait, no!_ That was definitely _not_ what Connor had planned on saying.

“O…kay…” Fowler cocks and eyebrow and shrugs his shoulders. He draws his attention back to the tablet, almost looking bored with the conversation. “Anyone with a brain stem and a functional set of eyes already knows this, but is there a reason you’re bringing it up?”

Connor blushes beet red. “I-I wasn’t trying to say that. What I meant was, I have a boyfriend.”

Fowler raises both eyebrows and turns his eyes, but not his head, back up to Connor. “I don’t swing that way, and I’m married. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

“No, it’s…different.” Connor looks away. Why can’t he say this properly? Has he _really_ never talked to anyone other than Hank about Markus? “I mean, he and I have been dating for a year, and Valentine’s day is coming up.”

When Fowler turns his head up fully and gestures with one hand for Connor to keep going, he clears his throat yet again.

“I’m terrible at romantic holidays,” Connor admits. “Birthdays, Valentine’s Day, even Christmas…I’ve just never been very good at thinking of ways to go about flattering a partner. Markus is the first legitimate one I’ve had, to be honest.” He shifts his weight from one hip to the other and shakes his head. “But you’ve been married for a while, Captain Fowler. You’ve been through your romantic holidays a lot. What I’m asking is…can you help me figure out what to do for this coming Valentine’s Day?”

Fowler frowns for a moment, before he lowers his tablet to the desk and sits back, folding his hands over his abdomen. “That sounds like a pretty personal situation, Connor. You really want to ask _me_ for help?”

Connor nods quickly—perhaps a bit too quickly. “It’s just, Hank is zero help, and I can’t ask any of Markus’ friends without them being a dead giveaway to him because they can’t keep their feelings to themselves, and Valentine’s Day also happens to be our one-year anniversary, so I’d like to make it one he’ll never forget.”

Fowler sighs. “Shouldn’t that kind of thought come from you? I don’t know the first thing about your boyfriend, other than the fact that you’ve just now made a point to explain to me that you’re very gay for him.”

Connor blushes again. “I don’t want you to tell me exactly what to do…I just…need some suggestions to build from.” Connor has never been good at subtle, sweet gestures that appeal to other people. It’s not that he doesn’t pay attention to or _care_ what things Markus likes and dislikes. It’s just that…his brain isn’t really wired for deep, emotional thinking. He’s always been an analyst, careful and detailed, and that’s another problem, really. He just knows he’s going to pick every little idea he has apart until there’s nothing appealing about it anymore.

In essence, Connor just wants Markus to enjoy it, but he’s awful at getting out of his own head about it.

“And you haven’t tried the internet?” Fowler wonders. Connor can see the impatience on his face, but there’s also something in his voice that implies he wants to help.

“I have,” Connor answers, nodding his head. “It talked about everything from skydiving to buying personalized chocolates. But I’m not sure that’s something I’d consider romantic, and Markus is _really_ romantic, so…”

“Spare me the details,” Fowler raises a hand. “I’ve got a very polished image of you when I hear your name, and your love life isn’t something I want to hear about as a result.”

“I wasn’t—”

“—but it doesn’t mean I’m not going to try and come up with something to help you.”

Connor can’t help but smile at that, but Fowler shuts it down with another raised hand. “Don’t, don’tdon’tdon’t…don’t do that. I promised to give you advice, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be _good_.”

Connor cocks his head, folding his hands behind his back. “I apologize, Captain, but Chris and Tina both referred you to me in a way that made it sound like you knew your stuff.”

“Oh, _they_ sent you in here?” Fowler’s eyebrows hop back up onto his forehead once more. “It all makes sense, now. Sounds to me like they punked you, Connor.”

“Excuse me?” Connor frowns.

“They don’t know the first thing about my love life, aside from the fact that I’m happily married.” Fowler shrugs. “They probably knew you’d come in here looking embarrassed enough that I’d think you were about to ask me personally on a date, and that I’d awkwardly shoo you away with half-assed advice. And to be completely honest, I’m really wracking my brain here and half-assed advice is all I can really think of. But knowing it’s _their_ asses who put you and me both into this predicament, I’m kind of pissed. So…joke’s on them.”

He stands upright, grinning in a way that Connor is simultaneously surprised and terrified by. He’s never seen Fowler smile so broadly, and now, he figures he knows why.

“Let’s go shopping.”

\--- --- --- --- ---

What was Connor expecting when he’d confronted Fowler? Nothing too crazy, honestly. He’d truly been convinced that he wasn’t going to leave with any better ideas than when he’d entered, because Fowler himself doesn’t strike Connor as the type of guy who spends hours thinking about how to make the most romantic evening for his wife, let alone to give advice on the subject.

But for a second time today, he is reminded that he shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Fowler probably got to be captain over time because he had shown that he doesn’t back down from a challenge…or something like that. Not because he’s grumpy and no-nonsense about everything. Either way, going by the way he’d grinned at Connor not even an hour ago in his office, Connor imagines it’s because Tina and Chris have unwittingly put him up to a challenge.

He’s almost a little intimidated, and it’s mostly because he thinks his own police captain has finally dropped all his marbles and he’s genuinely afraid he might start tripping on them any moment.

“Captain Fowler, I don’t think this is…necessary…” Connor tries as they’re walking briskly through the snowy Detroit parking lot and into a shopping mall. Connor doesn’t really _go shopping_ , even outside of getting ready for his one-year anniversary with Markus, and Fowler definitely strikes Connor more as the guy who stands and holds the bags while he waits for his family to finish shopping than the one who is going to help Connor shop, but again…books and covers and probably also a few marbles…

“You wanted help, right?” Fowler questions simply. The grin has faded from his lips, but Connor sees a startling new flicker of love-holiday-induced determination resting in the scowl on his face, and he’s still having a lot of difficulty interpreting the situation as a whole, and this really isn’t helping.

“Well, yeah, of course,” Connor replies perhaps a little nervously, “but I’m not sure why we’re in a shopping mall instead of…I don’t know…discussing whether to have the house scented like flowers or baked goods?”

Fowler shrugs. “You wanted to make sure your gesture was romantic and heartfelt, right?” When Connor nods, he keeps speaking as they make their way into the double doors leading into the mall. “It sounds to me like you really want to blow the guy away. So maybe dressing up for him is a good start.”

Connor had planned on dressing nicely, yeah, especially if this Valentine’s-Day-slash-anniversary thing turns out to be a dinner in a fancy restaurant. Which it very well could, because Connor can’t cook nearly as well as Markus, and he’s definitely not about to ask the guy to cook the meal he’s planning on giving him on their one-year anniversary.

That in mind, Connor shrugs. “I suppose I can’t argue with you on that.”

Fowler smiles the tiniest of smiles on his normally grumpy face, before he tucks his hands into his pockets. The bottom floor of the mall is mostly jewelers and kids’ clothing stores, so they both make for a nearby escalator, above which they can see a map of the mall waiting to show them the way.

Fowler speaks up as they move to stand on the escalator and ride their way up. “So…what does he like?”

Connor cocks his head. “Less vague, Captain?”

“Colors…scents…styles.” Fowler gestures around them. “Has he ever told you that you look good in any particular kind of outfit? Implied that he might want you to wear that style or color or even cologne again some time?”

“I—”

“—Without getting too detailed, Connor,” Fowler interjects. “I don’t want to know anything that happened beyond the compliment, okay?”

“I wasn’t going to say…”

“Just covering my bases,” Fowler responds almost defensively. “Anyway, you can answer now.”

Connor ponders it long enough that they’ve not only reached the next floor, but they’re waiting at the big map for him to come up with an answer. “He likes the way I wear the color blue?” Connor tries, shrugging his shoulders. “He says it brings out the sadness in my big puppy dog eyes.”

Fowler wrinkles his nose, and for a brief moment, Connor worries that he might have exceeded the limit of just what information he’s allowed to divulge. After all, not only is he currently on an excursion with a very business-oriented man, but said business-oriented man is also his _boss._

Connor struggles to remember how all this mess even started.

“Alright…so, blue then,” Fowler responds around a shrug. “And blue goes well with black, which is what people usually wear when they wear a suit.”

“Captain…suits are expensive.”

“You don’t have to buy one,” Fowler responds as he shrugs his shoulders. “Rent one.”

Connor can’t really argue with that logic. He knows he probably won’t find a place to rent a suit in a mall, but he can do his research on that when he gets home. For now, Fowler seems hell-bent on finding him the rest of his ensemble. He directs him into an upscale clothing store, where they’re almost immediately greeted by dashing men’s articles.

Fowler stops once they’re just inside the door. He reaches a hand out and claps Connor on the back with it. “Well, what’re you waiting for? Find a nice blue shirt that you think will win your man’s heart over.”

Connor blushes again. “Captain…”

“Go on.” Fowler gestures with his hand for Connor to start looking around.

Connor hesitates, but he figures he’s come this far. He releases a long sigh, before he starts walking around in the store, in search of something that jumps out at him.

That very something is located toward the back of the shop, almost in a corner. It’s a discount shirt (if you can call thirty-five dollars a discount price), but the blue is almost perfect. It’s a deep, royal blue that draws Connor in, and he can almost picture the way it would look layered underneath a black suit. It’s damn near perfect.

He plucks his size off the rack and turns to face Fowler. The police captain ponders for a moment, before he gestures toward the fitting rooms. “Go try it on, then.”

Connor nods, fidgeting somewhat, before he starts off to the fitting room and obeys. Within a good few minutes, Connor has changed from the white button-up he tends to wear under his uniform to the deep blue shirt he has picked out. And yeah, it _does_ look good. Connor definitely sees what Markus means about it drawing out the gleam in his eyes. Connor doesn’t spend a whole lot of time analyzing his own personal appearance, but standing in front of this mirror, he can’t help but think he doesn’t look half bad.

His lips quirk up just slightly in a smile, before he clears his throat and goes back to his normal stoic expression, stepping out of the fitting room.

“Well?” Connor questions, holding out both hands as if to say ‘what do you think?’

Fowler nods and makes his way to Connor’s side. “Put this on,” he suggests, extending out what appears to be a nice black jacket.

“I thought I was renting a suit…”

“You are,” Fowler responds easily, “but this’ll tell us if it’ll look good with the black.”

Connor pauses, before he shrugs the jacket on. He and Fowler both pivot toward the mirror.

Oh okay…yeah, the black definitely looks good with the blue. Connor immediately takes a liking to the colors, and somewhere in the back of his mind, he imagines that Markus is going to like it, too. He definitely doesn’t think that looks are everything, or that Markus wouldn’t appreciate it if he didn’t dress up, but he’s starting to realize that that isn’t the point Fowler is trying to make.

So, once he’s changed into his clothes again, he moves to go pay for the button-up and he and Fowler make their way back out into the mall.

\--- --- --- --- ---

At the end of the day, Connor’s mind is still reeling. He’s positively blown away by Fowler’s commitment to helping him get through his dilemma, but even with that determination, he hadn’t expected the guy to help him plan everything down to the last detail. For the past handful of hours, Connor and none other than Jeffrey Fowler have walked around in the mall, dined at the food court, and discussed Connor’s relationship with Markus.

Connor’s boss now knows that Markus enjoys painting, excels at speed chess, and has the tendency to chew on the inside of his lip when he’s in deep thought. He also knows that Markus is a fantastic cook and that Connor doesn’t tend to cook much, but he’s also not sure dining out at a fancy restaurant is the right way to go.

They’ve figured out what Connor is going to do. And not only has Fowler helped Connor decide how he’s going to make things absolutely perfect, but somewhere in his surprisingly-bleeding heart, he has found it in himself to promise Connor the entire day off.

They’re back at the station now, ignoring the weird glances from their coworkers, and Fowler is starting to sound like he’s about to dismiss himself back to his office. He meets Connor at his desk and claps him on the shoulder.

“Here’s the thing:” he starts, his voice low and that same shade of no-nonsense that Connor had found so intimidating up until today. “Your plan is good. You’re going to give your guy one hell of an anniversary, and he’s going to love you to death for it. But the way you talk about him, I don’t think he would mind if you hadn’t put all this thought and stress into it. Not following this by the book isn’t going to kill your relationship. Sounds to me like Markus is just going to be happy to know you care enough to think about doing something like that.”

He steps back, and then gestures to the computer desk. “Enjoy your holiday, but don’t think for a second that you’re leaving here tonight without finishing all your bookwork.”

Connor freezes. Right…bookwork. He’s got a ton of paperwork to go through, and considering he’s all-but spent an entire work day at the mall shopping rather than working, he’s going to be in here for quite some time. As Fowler walks away, Connor can’t help but scowl at the back of him as he moves.

And at the same time, he’s thankful. He still doesn’t know if he’s going to adhere fully to the plan he and Fowler had come up with, but he also feels like he has a better idea what to think about when it comes to giving Markus that day.

Fowler’s plan is pretty straightforward, and he had made a point to tell Connor he’d only come up with it that way because it was what he used to do for his wife back when the two of them had the time and ability to go on long, thought-out dates. He’d also stated that Connor was shit at giving him information, so this was all he’d had to work with.

In essence, it’s the normal combination of getting all dressed up, letting Markus come home to a romantic dinner with ‘swanky’ (Fowler had literally called it that) music playing faintly in the background, and letting him tell Connor all about his work day or whatever happened that day. Afterward, they’d go for a nice, long walk in the garden by the park near where their apartment is, and they’d come home, have dessert and a few drinks, and that would be it. Or it wouldn’t, but Fowler had been quick to avoid any topics that veered toward knowing what Connor without so much as his uniform jacket on would look like. Understandable, because picturing Fowler naked kind of makes Connor uncomfortable, so he gets why it’d be weird the other way around.

But Connor also sees why he’d said he didn’t need to adhere a hundred percent to that plan. It’s more…what they talked about today that matters. And they talked about a _lot_. Connor feels as if he’s learned a great deal about the man he had considered his uptight boss, but now thinks there’s more to the story than that.

Fowler has taught Connor an important lesson, and now, he thinks he also understands why he’s been tasked with dealing with all this busywork alone, too. Connor needs some time to think, simply put, and Fowler has given him an outlet that he knows he’ll use—work.

\--- --- --- --- ---

As a child, Connor read a book about Valentine’s Day. He doesn’t remember much about the book itself, but he remembers that on that day, it had snowed thickly in the book. The pictures had shown him pearlescent white landscapes, and then ultimately led up to a scene where the main character had donned her winter gear and went outside to play in the snow.

In the end of the story, the girl had formed a giant heart in the snow with her footsteps.

This morning, Connor could almost do just that. The snow has spent the entire night coming down thickly, and with Detroit temperatures resting just below zero, the snow has no problem sticking. Connor is glad he’d gotten all his preparations for tonight done already.

Markus still has work, unfortunately. Architecture sounds like hard stuff, but according to Markus, his work is nothing like what bigger-name architects do. He wouldn’t mind traveling the world, but that also means he has to be away from his friends and his family.

Not that he and Connor can’t afford their place on their current income, so neither of them seem to mind.

In any case, the silver lining in the unfortunate case of Markus still having to go into work is that Connor can get things ready while he’s out. It’s nothing too spectacular, but now, he wants to make a point for both himself and Fowler.

For now, though, he maintains that innocent smile on his lips as Markus rushes about to finish getting ready for work.

“At least the snow’s stopped,” Markus comments idly as he shrugs his suit jacket on. He tugs at his tie a little, and then reaches for his briefcase. Connor shrugs his shoulders in response when he sees Markus turning circles. He already knows it’s because his boyfriend has misplaced his keys. Connor, however, knows for a fact that whenever Markus forgets to hang his keys up at the door, he always tosses them onto the coffee table, so he scoops them up from said coffee table and crosses the room to pass them to Markus.

“You still need to be careful on the road,” Connor responds as he drops the keys into Markus’ open palm. “Accident calls are always the worst in inclement weather.”

“I’ll be careful,” Markus promises, smiling across the space between himself and Connor. “I can’t believe your boss just up and let you have today off. How are you gonna spend it?”

Connor waves a hand dismissively. “I’m not sure, yet, but I’ll figure something out. Maybe I’ll rearrange the living room.”

“Don’t put the couch in front of the window, I’m begging you. It—”

“—makes it hard to watch television during the day because of the glare,” Connor cuts him off, laughing a little. “Don’t worry, I remember.”

“Alright, alright.” Markus laughs too, before he leans in and steals a kiss from Connor’s lips. “I’ll see you when I get off work, okay?”

“Okay,” Connor steps back from the kiss, folding his hands behind his back, and smiles patiently. “Be safe, seriously.”

“I know, and I will.” Markus grabs for the doorknob. “Love you!”

Connor just manages to get an “I love you too” out before Markus closes the door and starts out to his car. It takes everything Connor has in him not to watch his boyfriend through the window like a sad puppy watching their human leave, but that would just be too suspicious. So he instead makes his way into the kitchen and starts up some coffee until he hears the groaning of Markus’ engine that makes it clear he has pulled out of the driveway and is headed down the street.

Once the coast is clear, Connor gets straight to work.

It’s not like he has a lot to do, honestly. He just wants to make sure he’s got it all done, just in case something comes up and Markus has to come home early or Connor has to go back into the station for a while. It’s always been the way he thinks about things.

Connor _does_ rearrange the living room. He doesn’t go crazy. It’s more just a matter of moving the couch and chairs and television around to his satisfaction, and after that, he gets to work in the studio.

The studio is a place that Connor has subconsciously forbidden himself from going into without Markus present. Markus is committed enough to the hobby that once he gets started, he usually doesn’t stop until he’s all-but finished a piece or has no choice but to step back and take a break. For that reason, all his supplies are in a certain spot and for good reason. But today, Connor doesn’t plan on moving any of that. Instead, he’s injected a few other supplies into the room…without moving any of Markus’ odds and ends around. He has to drag said supplies from the bathroom they never use that he’s hidden them in, but once they’re assembled, Connor thinks the studio will still be open enough.

That task takes a little more work, and Connor is frankly glad he got the day off as a result. By the time he steps out of the studio, it’s already past noon. He’d spent literal hours assembling things, because Ikea makes really nice products but the instructions are downright terrifying, and Connor had ended up having to resort to Google for help instead.

After that, Connor allows himself a short break. He can’t cook as well as Markus, but his plan is to ensure that Markus doesn’t have to pay for their food or cook it tonight. Connor is going to make sure he doesn’t have to do _anything_ , because after taking care of Connor for a solid year, the dude deserves it.

He flops down onto the couch and turns onto his side, reaching for the remote. The television is a bit further away from the couch and coffee table than usual, but that’s only because Connor has set up a mess of blankets and pillows on the floor there. It’s reminiscent of a night they’d camped out on the floor and watched movies together while waiting for their new couch to be delivered. They’d stayed there, all curled up together, until they had both fallen asleep.

Connor never rented a suit. He had bought that blue button-up, but he’s not going to go too crazy with it. After spending all that time with Fowler, plotting grand and romantic gestures, he had realized at the end of the day that Fowler hadn’t actually been intending for Connor to follow any of his guidelines. His goal, very likely, had been to help Connor to realize that it doesn’t _have_ to be anything grand or romantic.

And come to think of it, Fowler had referred to the way he had gone above and beyond to make a grand, romantic gesture in the past tense. Connor had mentally questioned it—he’d wondered if they’d just settled so comfortably into their relationship together that they didn’t need that kind of thing, or if maybe Fowler just wasn’t as happy in his marriage as he used to be. But looking back, Connor thinks that Fowler has just learned over time that staying in and doing things they love to do but don’t get the time to anymore means so much more.

Not that Connor didn’t splurge a little on Markus’ gift in the studio, but he’s not getting a suit-clad Connor and romantic music, or rose petals or anything like that. Connor is going to make him dinner, and they are going to eat, and then he’s going to show him to the studio, where he’ll theoretically be so excited by his present that he’ll want to make out a little, and then they’ll direct themselves to the blankets and pillows on the living room floor and spend hours cuddled up to one another, watching old _Friends_ reruns and making fun of Ross.

For now, Connor puts on some Netflix show about gravity-defying homes and starts to watch.

He doesn’t remember falling asleep, but the next thing his conscious mind processes is the sound of his phone ringing, and the time displayed on the screen when he grabs to answer for it.

It’s nearly five in the evening. Markus gets off work in just a few minutes, which means he’ll be home very soon.

“Shit!” Connor practically dives off the couch as he hits the ‘accept’ button on his phone. He’s racing for the stairs leading to the master bedroom as he answers. “Hello?”

“ _Congratulations!_ ” A recorded voice on the other end of the phone says. “ _You’ve been selected to win a free cruise for two to—_ ”

Connor ends the call impatiently and tosses his phone onto the bed, before he practically trips himself racing into the bathroom. He hasn’t started cooking, he hasn’t cleaned himself up, and Markus is probably on his way home. Which means dinner isn’t going to be ready by the time he gets here, but at the very least, Connor isn’t going to smell like he spent all morning sweating away.

He takes the quickest possible shower he can manage, before he hops out and towels dry while at the same time shuffling into the bedroom. Somehow, he manages to get the towel into the hamper, and thankfully, he was smart enough to lay out his clothes before he had started working on the house. It’s nothing too crazy, of course. Connor is wearing black slacks and the blue button-up he’d purchased, leaving the top button open. He tousles his hair, leaving just a few curls bouncing over his forehead, and heads back downstairs to get started on cooking.

Connor doesn’t think that he’s panicking, but he’s apparently not very in-control, either. He starts prepping the ingredients for their meal, and then promptly spills an entire one-cup helping of milk down the front of his fancy, royal blue button-up.

“Damn it!” He curses, snatching a washcloth from a nearby drawer and running it under faucet water. He’s in the process of trying to scrub the milk spill from the nice new shirt when the lock clicks to the door. Just as it swings open, Connor drops below the counter out of sheer panic.

It’s not like he’s going to go unseen for a long time. The kitchen light is on, and said kitchen is almost directly visible upon stepping into the house. The kitchen and living room are on an open floor plan, so really, Markus just has to walk into the kitchen to find out why the light is still on and he’ll find Connor crouching away behind it like a nicely-dressed, milk-covered gremlin.

“…Connor?” Markus questions, and Connor hears the door click shut behind him. “Uh…why is there bedding all over the floor?”

Connor winces. He can hear Markus’ footsteps as he draws toward the kitchen. He’s getting closer, and Connor is just steps away from being humiliated for hiding like a troll. As Markus’ footsteps draw nearer, Connor finally pops up and rushes to his boyfriend, planting two hands on his chest and shoving him back toward the door.

“Wait, go back outside!” He pleads desperately, determined to salvage this situation somewhat, somehow.

“What, why?” Markus questions as he stumbles back from the force of Connor’s shoving. “Why is your shirt all wet?”

“Doesn’t matter!” He tries again. “Just…outside, please! Give me five…ten minutes! A half hour!”

Understandably, Markus looks taken aback. “Connor, it’s negative three degrees out…I’m not…look, I’ll just go into the living room, okay?”

Connor shakes his head, and even he knows he’s being a little unreasonable right now, but he can’t bring himself to stop. “No…I need to greet you properly.”

“Greet me…? Connor, what…” The realization presents itself on Markus’ face there. “You’re trying to surprise me?”

The important thing about surprises is that they actually need to be _surprising_. And while what Markus walked into just now can easily be interpreted as a surprise, it’s not exactly the one Connor was trying to get at. If anything, it’s the least exciting, most embarrassing surprise, and since today is pretty damned important for the both of them, it’s even worse.

Connor looks away, genuinely embarrassed. “You know…it’s been exactly a year today since we started dating. I was trying to cook you dinner and I spilled the milk, and…damn it.”

Connor hears Markus let out that sort of halfway-sigh he always lets out when he’s either amused or relieved. Hell, maybe he feels both right now. Connor doesn’t know. Regardless, it draws his attention back up to his boyfriend’s somewhat work-fatigued face.

“Listen, Con…if you still want to cook me dinner, I’m starved.” He smiles and brings a hand up to Connor’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “And whatever else you’ve got planned, I’m a hundred percent here for it, okay? It doesn’t have to be perfect.”

Connor isn’t surprised, but at the same time, he had genuinely been looking to wow Markus. His boyfriend is truly too nice of a guy, being all calm and amused about what he walked into rather than bothered by the mess. Connor isn’t quite sure how he’d have reacted if the shoe had been on the other foot…

“I mean, I still have a surprise for you.” Connor settles on the positive route, running a hand through his hair. “But first, I should cook dinner.”

Markus’ smile broadens. “That’s a good idea. And maybe change your shirt. Milk doesn’t smell good once it dries.”

Connor nods as Markus pecks his lips and dismisses himself to the living room. He makes himself comfortable without complaint on the newly-rearranged couch and pulls his phone from his pocket. Connor knows without having to ask that he’s playing one of those murder mystery games he loves so much. Oddly, Connor’s a detective and he can’t find the slightest interest in them himself.

Either way, he heads back upstairs and peels his shirt off his body. The article had cost him a good thirty-five dollars, but Connor figures it isn’t like he can only wear it on Valentine’s day. That in mind, he pulls out a white one and shrugs it on, working the buttons closed as he makes his way back downstairs.

Markus has a way about him of making everything better. Despite the fact that Connor not only didn’t have dinner even nearly ready, but had also spilled milk all over himself and made a mess of the living room floor, he’s having a good time. Every so often, he tosses casual conversation Connor’s way. He discusses the story of his current game—some guy who was in a bad car accident and is now agoraphobic or something, Connor isn’t paying full attention, having to try and solve a murder mystery before it costs him his girlfriend—and then asks Connor if they can have wine with their meal.

“Of course we can,” Connor tells him calmly. He’s grateful he’s looking away, because he does _not_ want Markus making fun of him for smiling the way he is. When he gets all fond like this, Markus calls it ‘cheesing’, which sort of drives Connor crazy. So he _definitely_ does not need to see Connor cheesing.

Connor has chosen an easy one-pot creamy goulash, and it doesn’t take long for him to have it ready. He puts his old waiter skills from back in high school to work by somehow managing to carry two steaming bowls of dinner, two glasses, and a wine bottle to the coffee table. He lowers them expertly down onto the surface and then passes Markus one of the paper towels, moving to take a seat next to him.

He cocks his head to the side and nods toward the bowl. “Happy Valentine’s Day…eat up.”

Markus stares at it for a moment, before he places it on the coffee table. “It’s a bit hot just yet. How about we start on the wine first?”

Connor just shrugs and sets his own bowl aside. He watches as Markus pops open the bottle and pours them both a glass. Connor doesn’t typically drink wine, but tonight’s a special occasion, and if he comes to work a little slower than usual, maybe Fowler will take it as a sign that all his weird, backhanded pep-talking actually worked. For now, Connor sips at his wine as Markus speaks up once more.

“This is a big deal to you, then?” He questions after swallowing a drink of his own. “I mean…you put a lot of thought into it is all.”

Connor shrugs. He’s still a little embarrassed, but otherwise, he’s feeling great. Markus is just a source of comfort to him like that. “It’s important to me in a couple of ways, yeah.” He turns his attention to the television, which is droning on at a low enough volume that it doesn’t interrupt his train of thought. “For one, this is the marker of the fact that we’ve been dating a full year. It definitely doesn’t feel like it’s been that long, though.” He laughs a little, before he turns his gaze back to Markus.

“You’ve been so good to me all this time, Markus, and I’m just…not a romantic person at heart. But I wanted to be able to show you somehow that I appreciate it all. There’s no way in hell I’ll ever be as sweet and thoughtful as you are, but…it’s important to me that you know it doesn’t go unappreciated.”

Markus blinks for a few seconds, before he nods his head and just smiles. “I know. And I don’t do any of it expecting you to return the favor. It’s just…what a good boyfriend does, right? I’m happy with you, so I think that’s all that should matter.”

Okay…Connor is definitely cheesing, now. He’s probably also blushing. But regardless of the shitty start to what’s supposed to be a sweet, meaningful, romantic evening, he’s having a good time.

“Let’s wait for our food to cool,” Connor finally says as he stands up, taking his glass with him. Markus follows suit, his expression nothing short of inquisitive. “I want to show you something.”

Connor can see that Markus is hesitating as they draw closer to the studio. The room that is the studio was actually a bedroom at one point, before Markus converted it into his studio. It’s bigger than the master bedroom, but in all honesty, Markus needs all the space. For that reason, Connor hopes his gift doesn’t take up too much of it.

As they enter the studio, Markus exhales. When Connor turns to glance at him, he sees shock on his face.

Connor has taken it upon himself to purchase one of those twin bunk beds with the desk underneath. It’s backed up against the far wall, away from where Markus keeps all his paints and other supplies. Connor did move some of the canvases around to make room for it, but other than that, the room is intact.

“You’ve been known to pull an all-nighter in here,” Connor explains quickly, turning his focus to Markus. “I just wanted to give you a place to catch some sleep so I didn’t find you passed out on the floor with paint all over your face one day.”

Markus blinks again, before he moves to curl an arm around Connor’s shoulders. Connor knows he’s done right by the kiss that’s pressed to his hair as he does so.

“I love it, Con. This is definitely thoughtful of you…thank you.”

“I got it for another reason, too,” Connor adds, “and it’s a little more selfish.”

“Hmm?” Markus releases him and raises an eyebrow.

Connor plants his free hand on his hip and takes another drink of his wine. “You spend so much time in here sometimes that I get bored and start missing you. So now, I have an excuse to come and hang out with you while you paint, and you don’t have to worry about me getting into anything.”

Markus just scoffs. “Alright, alright, I really like to paint, we get the point. Let’s go eat, yeah?”

For a last-minute goulash, the meal isn’t all that bad. Connor thinks that Markus feels the same way, as he hasn’t stopped eating his yet. It isn’t until his bowl is completely empty that he leans back on the couch after putting his bowl on the table. He lowers one hand to his belly and raises the other to point at the blankets on the floor.

“So, seeing as beds seem to be the recurring theme of the evening, I’m guessing that’s where you and I are camping out for the night?”

Huh. Connor had never really put two and two together that he’d done that. Either way, he shrugs. “I just remember one night where you and I made a blanket fort and watched television until we fell asleep together, and it’s one of my favorite things to think about.”

Markus genuinely laughs. “There _is_ a romantic somewhere in you, Connor Stern!”

Connor blushes bright red. “I don’t have to be a hopeless romantic like you to have fond memories,” he quips almost shortly.

Markus raises both hands in surrender. “You know I didn’t mean it like that. Give me some time to process all this food and I’ll gladly lie down and watch _Friends_ with you.”

“You remember that night, then,” Connor observes aloud, and Markus shrugs.

“Of course I do. You had all-but latched yourself to my side as you were pointing out how Ross deserved all the misfortune he got. You’re not crazy about him, huh?”

“Not even a little,” Connor grunts. “He’s a narcissist. He’s also really rude to women.”

Markus nods in agreement, before he stands up. “Let me go take a shower, okay? After that, we’ll lie down together.”

Connor doesn’t think that this is the way he’d planned for their evening to go. It feels…normal. Even after giving Markus his gift, it still feels that way. He thinks that maybe he should be a little disappointed about that, but he really isn’t. In all honesty, maybe it’s normal to him because they don’t need a special day to choose to be sweet and affectionate to one another. Connor won’t go so far as to call every day a Valentine’s Day for them, but the point still stands.

There isn’t a day he’s not happy with Markus around. And that can be as romantic or not-romantic as either of them want it to be.

And it continues to feel normal, even after they’ve both stripped down to their pajamas and are curled up together on the blankets on the floor. _Friends_ plays, and they’re both watching as if they haven’t seen the show a million times. While Rachel is about to give birth to her baby, Markus turns his head and presses a kiss to Connor’s temple.

“I couldn’t get today off to celebrate, but I wanted to do something special for you too,” he suddenly says, drawing Connor’s attention away from the television and to his face. “And seeing as you probably have to work tomorrow, it’ll have to be after you get off. How do you feel about dinner somewhere tomorrow night?”

Connor lights up visibly, thinking about the milk-stained shirt he’d been forced to discard. Fowler’s plans may not be so unnecessary.

“I can still wear the shirt!” He barks excitedly, and then he proceeds to ignore the look of shock and confusion on Markus’ face as he flops right back down and cuddles up to him. “Dinner tomorrow night, then.”


End file.
